Understanding Sugar's Release Cadence

Overview

Sugar is available through two deployment models: SugarCloud and on-site. Customers using SugarCloud, SugarCRM's Software as a Service (SaaS) model, have their instances hosted on our servers, whereas customers using the on-site model host their instances on their own servers or those of their partners. This article covers the different release cadences you can expect under each deployment model.

SugarCloud vs On-Site

Instances hosted on Sugar's cloud receive four releases per year containing new features as well as fixed issues. SugarCloud deployment ensures that you receive the latest features and fixes as quickly as possible.

Instances hosted on-site only receive new features once a year in a release that applies to both SugarCloud and on-site deployments. This annual release includes the changes from the preceding year on SugarCloud. So, when upgrading to version 13.0.0, as an example, the aggregate list of features will be from the last three SugarCloud-only releases (e.g., 12.1.0, 12.2.0, 12.3.0) plus the latest annual release (e.g., 13.0.0). In addition, there may be on-site patches containing critical fixed issues released as needed between the annual releases. 

The following diagram demonstrates the release cadence of SugarCloud and on-site:

Customers hosted on-site that wish to take advantage of the benefits of SugarCloud and its release cycle have the opportunity to migrate from the most recent on-site patch to the upcoming quarterly SugarCloud release at any time. For more information on migration or SugarCloud upgrades, refer to the SugarCloud Policy Guide.

With the quarterly release cadence, customers can expect fast innovation and a high-quality product with new features released frequently and issues addressed in a timely manner.